The United States entered the First World War not "to make the world safe for democracy" as President Wilson claimed, but to safeguard American economic interests. Assess the validity of this statement. – 15 March 2012
The United States entered World War I with the covered intention of making “the world safe for democracy,” however there is significant reason to say that there were other reasons. Therefore the validity of the statement above is correct. The reason of economics played a large role in American intervention, and yet making the world safe for democracy was merely an idea that Wilson believed in and threw out to America so that it would seem like a more justified reason to declare war.
First, it should be established how the US went from a neutral country to siding with the Allied Powers. The president at the time (in 1916) was Woodrow Wilson, being elected for his second term. Since the beginning of World War I, in 1914, America had a deep mind set to keep out of the war and remain a neutral country. Even Wilson’s campaign slogan was “He kept us out of war.” These feelings changed quickly, however. A growing sympathy towards the Allied Powers, and a dislike for Germany and its practices of warfare caused the Americans to jump off the fence. The US had become an increasingly large supplier of weapons for the Allies since they were the only countries able to purchase the weapons at the time. The European powers owed America some two billion dollars that would never be repaid if the enemy had won (Freedman).
Wilson had originally wanted the countries already warring to come to peaceful terms. He tried to make set up a peace conference to settle the war, but that did not happen. The warring sides assumed that they had a chance at winning, so they continued to war. At the beginning of 1917, Germany declared that it would attack any vessels trying to get to the British Isles, which made the US break its diplomatic relations with Germany. When an American merchant ship was attacked, Wilson tried to arm the American merchant ships (Freedman).
Another weight to unbalance the scale of neutrality in America came merely three days later in the form of a telegram. Arthur Zimmerman had sent a telegram to Mexico stating that Germany and Mexico would form an alliance with the reward of Mexico obtaining Texas, New Mexico and Arizona if the Americans entered the war. Finally, the final tipping point came when the Germans attacks four American ships. A special session in Congress was called, where President Wilson declared war on Germany (Freedman).
From this, it can be said that the initially, the US had wanted to remain neutral. However, the Americans gained a large sum of money by selling weapons to the Britain, thereby helping the British side. A company called Bethlehem Steel was breaking the law by supplying the British with arms, but the Wilson administration did nothing to stop it (Dwyer). As mentioned above, by the time the Americans entered the war, over 2 billion dollar had been borrowed by the French and British, loans that could never be paid back if the Americans had sat back and let German try and win the war (Freedman).
Wilson, however, had a feeble idea that the American System would save the world. He believed that America was an example to follow, with its economy, political structure and diversity (United). These aims were just covering the real reason. America could not remain neutral because of the weapon trading that they were doing with Britain. The Germans attacked merchant ships that were going to supply the Brits with ammunition, not out of the blue (Kennedy). The Zimmerman note was a threat to America if they entered the war, so by not entering the war, democracy would ultimately be saved. This would be the opposite of the goals that Wilson stated in his speech to Congress.
As glorifying as entering the war to make the world safe for democracy is, there was not really a reason to break neutrality except for the amount of money that America was making by supplying arms to the Allied Powers. This greed forced the country to tip to a side. Also, by entering the war, they risked themselves because of the threat of alliance with Mexico. Trying to make sure that European debt was paid back and making money of their own were the only reasons to enter the war.
Freedman, Russell. The War to End All Wars: World War I. Boston Mass.: Clarion, 2010. Print.
Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, Thomas Andrew Bailey, and Thomas Andrew Bailey. "The War to End War." The American Pageant: A History of the Republic. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. Print.
The United States entered World War I with the covered intention of making “the world safe for democracy,” however there is significant reason to say that there were other reasons. Therefore the validity of the statement above is correct. The reason of economics played a large role in American intervention, and yet making the world safe for democracy was merely an idea that Wilson believed in and threw out to America so that it would seem like a more justified reason to declare war.
First, it should be established how the US went from a neutral country to siding with the Allied Powers. The president at the time (in 1916) was Woodrow Wilson, being elected for his second term. Since the beginning of World War I, in 1914, America had a deep mind set to keep out of the war and remain a neutral country. Even Wilson’s campaign slogan was “He kept us out of war.” These feelings changed quickly, however. A growing sympathy towards the Allied Powers, and a dislike for Germany and its practices of warfare caused the Americans to jump off the fence. The US had become an increasingly large supplier of weapons for the Allies since they were the only countries able to purchase the weapons at the time. The European powers owed America some two billion dollars that would never be repaid if the enemy had won (Freedman).
Wilson had originally wanted the countries already warring to come to peaceful terms. He tried to make set up a peace conference to settle the war, but that did not happen. The warring sides assumed that they had a chance at winning, so they continued to war. At the beginning of 1917, Germany declared that it would attack any vessels trying to get to the British Isles, which made the US break its diplomatic relations with Germany. When an American merchant ship was attacked, Wilson tried to arm the American merchant ships (Freedman).
Another weight to unbalance the scale of neutrality in America came merely three days later in the form of a telegram. Arthur Zimmerman had sent a telegram to Mexico stating that Germany and Mexico would form an alliance with the reward of Mexico obtaining Texas, New Mexico and Arizona if the Americans entered the war. Finally, the final tipping point came when the Germans attacks four American ships. A special session in Congress was called, where President Wilson declared war on Germany (Freedman).
From this, it can be said that the initially, the US had wanted to remain neutral. However, the Americans gained a large sum of money by selling weapons to the Britain, thereby helping the British side. A company called Bethlehem Steel was breaking the law by supplying the British with arms, but the Wilson administration did nothing to stop it (Dwyer). As mentioned above, by the time the Americans entered the war, over 2 billion dollar had been borrowed by the French and British, loans that could never be paid back if the Americans had sat back and let German try and win the war (Freedman).
Wilson, however, had a feeble idea that the American System would save the world. He believed that America was an example to follow, with its economy, political structure and diversity (United). These aims were just covering the real reason. America could not remain neutral because of the weapon trading that they were doing with Britain. The Germans attacked merchant ships that were going to supply the Brits with ammunition, not out of the blue (Kennedy). The Zimmerman note was a threat to America if they entered the war, so by not entering the war, democracy would ultimately be saved. This would be the opposite of the goals that Wilson stated in his speech to Congress.
As glorifying as entering the war to make the world safe for democracy is, there was not really a reason to break neutrality except for the amount of money that America was making by supplying arms to the Allied Powers. This greed forced the country to tip to a side. Also, by entering the war, they risked themselves because of the threat of alliance with Mexico. Trying to make sure that European debt was paid back and making money of their own were the only reasons to enter the war.
Dwyer, John J. "The United States and World War I." The United States and World War I. 26 Jan. 2004. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. <http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig3/dwyer3.html>.
Freedman, Russell. The War to End All Wars: World War I. Boston Mass.: Clarion, 2010. Print.
Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, Thomas Andrew Bailey, and Thomas Andrew Bailey. "The War to End War." The American Pageant: A History of the Republic. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. Print.
"The United States Enters WWI." Learn Social Studies and American History. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. <http://www.socialstudieshelp.com/lesson_72_notes.htm>.